Implementations of augmented and/or virtual reality in the field of transportation systems are presently very limited. Applications exist that allow users to view data that is overlaid on a map of a particular geographical area, for example on mobile devices. Overlaid data may include intersection or roadway-specific, activity-specific, and machine-specific data, and users can tap or select particular information, or particular areas of an intersection or roadway, for further detail. However, development of these applications is rudimentary, and has not reached a stage to where cities, counties, states, and other responsible entities can view visualizations of an intersection or roadway that are augmented with such data rather than simple overlays, for example using a wearable device. Additionally, development of these applications has not reached a stage where continuous augmentations of sophisticated traffic information are possible, nor have they reached a stage where they can be adjusted based on real-time user input.
It is to be understood that virtual reality, or VR, refers to the creation of a virtual world that users can interact with, and in which users would find it difficult to tell the difference from what is real and what is not. Meanwhile, augmented reality, or AR, is the blending of virtual reality and real life, in which images may be created within applications that blend in with contents in the real world. With AR, users are able to interact with virtual contents in the real world, and are able to distinguish between the two. Virtual reality and augmented reality are similar in the immersion of the user, though this is accomplished in different ways. With AR, users continue to be in touch with the real world while interacting with virtual objects around them. With VR, the user is isolated from the real world while immersed in a world that is completely, or almost completely, fabricated.